Trick concentric grooved ball game



April 26, 1949. c. L. MCBRIDE TRICK CONCENTRIC GROOVED BALL GAME Filed May 5, 1947 Patented Apr. 26, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims. 1

This invention relates to puzzles and more particularly to small and operating puzzles where the object is to move a body, such as a ball, up an incline to set it in a pocket.

There have been numerous puzzles placed on the market which comprise a small housing having a generally conical or mound-shaped formation on its bottom to form an operating surface, and, usually, having grooves formed therein and surrounding a shallow pocket in its center portion, a rollable body, such as a ball, positionecl within the housing to be moved up the mound and into the pocket by tilting and jiggling the housing. Usually the housing is enclosed at the top by a transparent cover which is spaced above the rim of the pocket 2. suitable distance to allow the ball or the like to be jumped or bounced into the pocket.

The puzzles of this type, heretofore, have been such that their successful operation is possible after long and patient attempts by skill, with probably a certain amount of luck, but they have not been so arranged as to permit the quick and ready seating of the movable body in the pocket after a quick movement of the device, due to a trick which is hidden or otherwise unobvious to an uninitiated operator.

It is an object of this invention to provide a puzzle of the type hereinbefore described wherein the movable body may be readily seated in the pocket because of an unique construction of the puzzle and which construction is not readily noticeable to an uninitiated operator.

It is another object of this invention to provide a puzzle to the type described wherein the cover for the puzzle is so arranged as to readily position the ball in alignment with the pocket and is adapted to be operated to seat the ball in the pocket.

It is still another object of the present invention to so form the upwardly inclined or stepped and grooved operating surface as to substantially preclude the seating of the movable body in the pocket by the apparent normal operation of the puzzle.

The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto are preferably accomplished, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, by a puzzle comprising a more or less conventional housing having a game surface in the bottom that is inclined upwardly toward its outer edge by a plurality of stepped concentric shallow grooves and surmounted by a cone having a shallow pocket at its apex. This housing is of relatively small compass and contains a movable body, such as a ball, which may be moved up the inclined stepped surface from its bottom transversely of the concentric grooves and into the pocket by manipulation of the housing through jiggling or gyrating movements. The

grooves may be of any desired form or shape but it is preferred that the grooves have progressively less depth toward the center pocket which is preferably surrounded by a fairly steep conical surface. The housing is enclosed by a cover which is preferably transparent and is so positioned that its center is spaced above the pocket a distance only slightly greater than the diameter of the ball. This cover may partake of various forms so that it is relatively movable, or at least the central portion thereof, with respect to the pocket, but it is preferred that its under-surface be concave or dished to center the ball opposite the pocket when the housing is inverted and the cover moved relatively to the pocket, the ball will be seated and retained in said pocket until the puzzle is uprighted and cover and pocket assume their normal relative positionsthereupon the ball will stay in the pocket due to natural forces.

To accommodate the movement of the cover, it may be composed of flexible sheeting of suitable material such as transparent celluloid or other plastic material, as an example, and has sufficient resiliency so that it will return to its normal Shape after being flexed to seat the ball in the pocket, or the cover may be formed from a rigid transparent plate, as of glass or plastic, having a concave under-surface and which is movably mounted relative to the housing and resiliently positioned so that it will return to its normal position after being moved toward the bottom to seat the ball in the pocket. The latter form of cover has the additional advantage of acting as a lens to refract the light rays and thereby distort the image.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advances thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures and in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a puzzle comprising the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken diametrically through one modification of the invention;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view identical to that in Fig. 2 except that the puzzle is inverted to illustrate the function of the cover;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken diametrically through a puzzle comprising another form of the invention;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional View identical to that of Fig. 4 except that the puzzle is inverted.

and the cover moved toward the bottom to illustrate the function of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view illustrating the modification of the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Referring now to the drawings and specifically to Fig. 1 the present invention comprises a puzzle including a housing til having a bottom H, side walls i2 and a transparent top 13. The bottom is provided with a game surface comprising a mound-like formation It having a plu-- rality of grooves l5 extending around its inclined surfaces in step-like formation and sur mounted by a cone it having a shallow pocket ll at its top or apex. The housing In is preferably of small dimensions so that it may be easily held in the hand and. is shown as being circular although it may obviously comprise any desired shape. The grooves is are shown as being concentric and positioned one above the other and each of less diameter progressively upward. However it will be understood that the grooves l5 may be of any other desired configuration that are progressively more shallow upwardly toward the pocket ll. The mound-like formation is may be formed from the bottom I! or, as shown, formed on a separate disc l8 supported on or above the bottom ll. Likewise, the pocket i? is shown in the present instance as a shallow depression but it obviously may comprise an aperture cut through the disc l8 or other desired shape. A movable body l9, which is preferably rollable such as a ball, is located within the housing ill to be moved upwardly from the bottom of the housing into the grooves IE to be finally seated in the pocket l'i, this being accomplished by tilting the housing l and/or jiggling it, in a manner well known and intuitive in manipulating such device, when the bottom II of the housing is lowermost, as shown in Fig. 2.

The above described structure is more or less conventional of all puzzles of this type and the concept of the present invention is best illustrated, in accordance with one exemplification thereof, in Fig. 2 wherein it will be seen that the mound portion H3 is inclined upwardly toward the cone l6 and that the grooves I5 are progressively shallower in approaching the pocket H so that in moving the ball [9 toward the pocket I? said grooves 55 afford less support for the ball 89 and more readily permit it to roll downwardly away from the cone l6. After the ball l9 has reached the top groove IE, it must be moved over the surface of the cone E6 to reach the pocket l! by tilting the housing or by flipping it into the pocket If. This has the advantage of requiring greater skill to move the ball l9 radially over the grooves l5 and, finally, seating it in the pocket l! and, also, diverting the attention of an uninitiated operator from recognizing the trick in readily solving the puzzle. The disc I 8 is shown aS a false bottom seated within the housing l8, but it will be understood that it may comprise the bottom wall H of the housing Iii.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the transparent cover 13 having its inner or under surface l3a concave and conically shaped or dished so that the center of said under surface I311 is opposite the pocket 11 on the cone l 6 and will center the ball I!) opposite said pocket I! when the housing is inverted as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and further resides in the cover l3, or at least the center thereof, being relatively mov able toward the apex of the cone It. This feature may be accomplished by a variety of structural arrangements of which two modification-s are specifically shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and Figs. 4 and 5 respectively.

Referring specifically to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be seen that the cover l3 comprises a thin sheet 5 that is dished upwardly so that its inner or under side 13a will be concave. This thin cover may be formed of any transparent sheeting, such as Celluloid as one example, so long as the material is sufficiently flexible to permit its being flexed inwardly. By this structure of the cover E3, the ball l9 rolls to the center of the concave inner surface wa when the puzzle is inverted, whereupon central portion of the cover l3 may be pushed inwardly to raise the ball l to nest with the pocket H, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3. Thus, when the housing of the puzzle is reversed to bring the cover i3 uppermost, and the pressure of the cover 93 is released, the ball l9 will be seated in the pocket l1 and be retained there by gravity until the housing is tilted sufficiently to cause the ball to move out of said pocket. In this form, it is preferable that the material of the sheet 8 have sufficient resiliency to cause it to flex outwardly and return to normal shape upon being released so that the appearance of the puzzle is normal in every respect after the trick is performed.

Another modification of the cover is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 as comprising a cover it formed by a plate 10 having a planar upper or outer surface 28 and a concave inner surface Isa. This plate 10 may be formed of glass or of plastic material and, in the latter event, if it is sufficiently thin, the central portion thereof may be flexed in much the same manner as hereinbefore described with respect to the cover sheet 5 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. 0n the other hand, if the plate p is formed of a non-flexible material, such as glass, or is too thick to be easily flexed it may then be mounted to move relative to the cone it so that it can be moved toward the pocket H to nest the ball l9 therein as shown in Fig. 5.

The plate p may be mounted in any desired manner and is shown, in Figs. 4 and 5, as being slidable within the side walls E2 of the housing ill, being retained therein by the inturned outer edges 24 of the side walls l2 and supported by the spacer ring or sleeve 25 slidably fitting within said side walls l2.

In order to accommodate the movement of the plate p toward the pocket I! and to return it to its normal position against the inturned edges 24, the sleeve 25 is resiliently supported by a cushion or resiliently yieldable member, which may comprise a body of rubber 2'! as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 or a helical spring 23 as shown in Fig. 6. In this modification the mound-like formation It preferably comprises a separate member 18 that has down-turned peripheral edges 29 which are concentric with the walls I 2 and spaced therefrom to form, a channel for receiving the lower edge of the spacer sleeve 25 and for enclosing the cushion, whether the latter be in the form of the rubber body 21 or the helical spring '28.

By this arrangement, the puzzle may be inverted to position the cover It lowermost, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the ball l9 will roll across the concave under surface l3a to the center of the cover l3 opposite the pocket; at which time the cover (comprising the plate 1;) may be pushed to slide inwardly to raise the ball l9 in the pocket l1, the spacing ring 25 sliding toward the bottom t) H of the housing l0 and compressing the resilient cushion. When the position of the puzzle is reversed or uprighted to bring the cover I3 uppermost and pressure on the cover plate p is released, the compressed cushion will expand to slide the spacer 25 upwardly which in turn moves the cover plate p upwardly to seat it against the inturned edges 24, in its normal position, thus revealing the ball l9 seated in the pocket I! as mentioned above. This type of cover has the additional advantage of comprising a lens which will distort the image of the operating surface and the ball !9 so as to make it appear even more difiicult to solve the puzzle by skill and further obscure the trick of quickly solving the puzzle.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

That which is claimed, as new, is:

1. In a puzzle comprising a housing having a game surface in the bottom portion thereof and a pocket in said surface, a movable body in said housing and normally supported by said game surface for movement on and over said surface by manipulation of said housing, when said bottom portion of the housing is lowermost, to be lodged in said pocket, and a transparent cover closing said housing to cover said game surface and spaced from said game surface a distance greater than the thickness of said body, the improvement comprising said game surface and said cover being disposed for relative movement toward and from each other, whereby, when the housing is inverted with said cover lowermost, said body may be moved into and held in said pocket when said cover and game surface are moved toward each other with said body interposed between said pocket and said cover.

2. A puzzle comprising a housing having a game surface in the bottom portion thereof and a pocket in said surface, a rollable body in said housing and normally supported by said game surface by manipulation of said housing, when said bottom portion of the housing is lowermost, for movement over said surface to be lodged in said pocket, and a transparent cover closing said housing and having a concave under-surface opposite said pocket and being spaced from said game surface a distance greater than the diameter of said body, the central portion at least of said cover being depressible for relative movement toward said pocket whereby, when the housing is inverted with said cover lowermost, said body will position itself opposite said pocket and may be moved into the latter and held there until the housing is reversed with said cover uppermost.

3. A puzzle as set forth in claim 2 wherein the cover comprises a flexible and resilient material.

4. A puzzle as set forth in claim 2 wherein the cover is movably mounted relative to said housing.

5. A puzzle as set forth in claim 2 wherein the cover also comprises an optically effective member having a planar top or outer surface.

6. A puzzle as set forth in claim 2 wherein the cover is movably mounted relative to said game surface and resilient means interposed therebetween to allow said relative movement.

'7. A puzzle comprising a housing having a game surface in the bottom portion thereof and which surface is inclined upwardly from its edge portions toward its center, a pocket in said center portion of said game surface, concentric grooves in said surface arranged step-like and surrounding said pocket, each groove being disconnected from its adjacent groove or grooves and being progressively of less depth toward said pocket, a conical surface rising from the central portion of said game surface within the innermost of said grooves and having said pocket at its apex, a movable body in said housing normally supported by said game surface for movement thereon and thereover radially of said grooves, when said bottom portion of the housing is lowermost, to be lodged in said pocket, and a transparent cover for said housing and spaced from said game surface and said pocket a distance greater than the thickness of said body.

8. A puzzle comprising a housing having a game surface in the bottom portion thereof and which surface is inclined upwardly from its edge portions toward its center, a pocket in said center portion of said game surface, grooves in said surface, cach being disconnected from its adjacent groove or grooves and surrounding said pocket at different levels, a movable body in said housing and normally supported by said game surface for movement thereon and thereover radially of said grooves, when the housing is lowermost, to be lodged in said pocket, and a transparent cover for said housing and spaced from said game surface and said pocket a distance greater than the thickness of said body.

9. A puzzle as set forth in claim 8 further comprising the under-face of said cover being dished to position said body opposite said pocket, when :5; said housing is inverted with said cover lowermost, and at least the center portion of said cover being depressible for relative movement toward said pocket whereby, when said housing is inverted with the cover lowermost, said body will position itself opposite said pocket and may be moved into the latter and held there by said cover until the housing is reversed with said cover uppermost.

10. A puzzle comprising a housing having a bottom and side walls, a mound-like member positioned within and on the bottom of said housing and having vertical peripheral surfaces parallel to and spaced from said side walls to form a channel closed by said bottom, yieldable resilient means disposed in said channel, the upper side of said mound-like member forming a game surface and having a pocket centrally thereof, a movable body in said housing and movable on and over said game surface and lodged in said pocket when the housing is in one position, a spacer substantially parallel said side Walls and mounted for movement toward and from said bottom wall and having its lower edge in contact with said yieldable resilient means, a transparent cover in contact with the upper edge of said spacer and having means on its under-face to center said movable body opposite said pocket, when the housing is in inverted position, whereby pressure on the cover will move said body in said pocket.

CHARLES L. MCBRIDE.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 12, 1889 Number 

